On Thursday, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the first global resolution on artificial intelligence (AI). This encourages countries to safeguard human rights, monitor AI for risks, and protect personal data.
Proposed by the US and co-sponsored by China and over 120 other nations, the nonbinding resolution advocates the strengthening of privacy policies. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US Ambassador to the UN stated that all 193 members of the UN general assembly have chosen to govern AI rather than let it govern people.
This resolution is one of the latest in a series of initiatives by different governments around the world to shape AI’s development. These initiatives have been built amid fears that the technology can be used to disrupt the democratic process, create job loss, and create fraud.
In November the first detailed international agreement on how to keep AI safe from rogue actors, and creating secure designs was unveiled. Currently, Europe is ahead of the US with its lawmakers adopting a provisional agreement to oversee the technology.
Last month Microsoft added it had caught Russian and Chinese officials using OpenAI software to hone their espionage skills.
